Elevator.



J. W. BUNKLEY.

ELEVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I5. 191s. 1 ,261,691 Patented Apr. 2, 191s. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

g JOEL W. BUNKLEY, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRIGT F COLUMBIA.

ELEVTOR.

Specieation of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 2, 1918.

' Application iled February 15, 1918. Serial No. 217,312.

Tov all whom t may concerm.

Be it known that I, J oni. W. BUNKLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful ,Improvements in Elevators; and I do hereby vdeclare the following to be a full, clear, and

' provide an elevator in which a descending body is enabled to raise a greater weight, a plurality of such bodies for example, through a shorter distance. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a front elevation of the device.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a detail showing the individual discharge mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of the single cage and its associated parts. c

In its preferred form, my device consists of a frame work made up of front uprights 1, 1, and similar rear uprights 2, 2, Joined together by a rectangular base frame 3 at the bottom and a similar frame 4 at the top, the latter, in the preferred construction, being surmounted by a gable roof 5 as shown. An intermediate or loading platform 6 is supported by the front uprights .about midway of their length, and consists of channels 7 and 8, separated by a central wall. The loading platform slopes downwardly toward its rear end near the front uprights and is held in this position by the usual brace members 9, 9, stiffened by struts 10. Built as a toy these channels will be of such size as to accommodate marbles or other spheres, or barrels or other cylindrical objects. An individual discharge mechanism 11 is pivoted as at 12 to the struts 10 so as to permit but one ball from each channel to pass into the elevating cage at one time, and consists of an H-shaped body having teeth 13 and 14 adapted to pass through holes 15 and 16 in the bottom o the loading platform, these holes being at a distance apart equal to the diameter of the spheres or cylinders'used. The discharge mechanism is held in normal position, with the teeth 14 extending through holes 16, by means of a weight 17 on arm 18, in which position the rows of balls are permitted to roll to the end of the channels or chutes nearest the uprights, the teeth 13 being lowered sufliciently as not to ofer an obstacle to the passage of the balls. On the end lof the discharge mechanism distant from the weight 17 is a lug 19 normally elevated and extending beyond the edge'of the chutes, in which position it is contacted by thebottom of the cage 2O on its descent. This cage consists of a pair of nearly cubical boxes 21 and 22, each having a sloping bottom 23 of a slightly greater pitch than the slope of the loading platform. A U- shaped stop member 24 is pivoted in each of the' boxes, as at 25 and extends beyond the front plane of the cage, forming a releasing lug 26, coperating with a bracket 27 secured to the front uprights at a position quite near the top, to turn the stop 24 on its pivot, raising the center of the U sufficiently high to allow the ball in the box to pass out of the cage into the appropriate channel ofthe upper platform 28.

This platform 28 is supported by the four uprights and consists of a passage 29 and a receiving chamber 30, the former being defined by the walls 31 running slightly diagonally as shown in Fig. 3, and the latter being defined by one of the walls 31, a rear wall 32, and the wall 33 of the platform it` self. The passage 29 is provided at its rear end with a U-shaped stop member 34 pivoted to the walls 31 as at 35, and having a downturned lug 36 adapted to be raised by the top of the cage 37 on its ascent. Due to the slope of the upper platform, the balls released from the cage 30 will roll to the rear where the lighter 'ball from channel 7 will be held by the rear Awall 32 of the receiving chamber 30, while the heavier ball from channel 8 will pass down the passage 29 and be caught by the stop 34 until the single cage ascends, at which time the top of this cage will raise the stop 34 and permit the heavier ball to pass into the cage and against asimilar stop member 38 pivoted to the walls of the cage as at 39, and also having an outwardly extending lug 40 adapted to be raised by a bracket 41 supported by the rear uprights 2 near the bottom of the device.

rlhe ball thus released by/ the raising of stop member 38 passes into a receptacle 42 from which the balls are removed by hand and again placed in the channel 8 if continuous motion ofthe machine is desired. Since quite a number of the balls of each weight are provided, it is only necessary to remove the balls from the receptacle 42 and thechamber 30at intervals, the 'machine being automatic as long as there are balls in the lloading platform. 4

The two cages are connected by a cable 43 4running from an eye 44 on the top of cage '37, over a pulley 45 supported by a beam 46 resting on the upper frame 4, and from thence to a pulley 47 in the roofmember, and around the pulley 48 mounted yon the double cage, to. a securing means on the front beam of the upper frame.

ln operation, the heavier balls 49 are4 bottom of the loading platform. A single ball '49 is now placed in the single cage 37v and the latter moved by hand down and up once tov permit the balls to pass into the double cage, and then let go, at which time, ow- ;ing to the arrangements of thepulleys, the smaller cage with its single ball will overbalance the larger cage with its two balls and will descend, the individual discharge mechanism returning to normal position to permit two more balls to pass tothe end of the loading platform, ready for the next trip, When the double cage reaches the top the lug 26 will engage the bracket 27, releasing both balls, the lighter one running into the receiving chamber while the heavier ball rolls ,until caught by the stop 34. Simultaneously with the release of the balls from the cage 20,'the single lball in cage 37 is released by the contact of lug 40 with bracket.

41, and since the double cage is the heavier of the two, allowing also for the arrangements of the pulleys, the cage 37 ascends and on reaching the top, raises the fstop 34 obtaining a further load and completing the cycle. A pair of braces 52 supported by the rear uprights, act to limit the height to which the single cage can be raised.

What I claim is: I

1. In an elevator structure for transferring objects from an Vintermediate level to a lower level, means for elevating one of said objects, means for lowering one of said o bjects, means for transferring the objects in turn from the elevating means to the lowering means, and a connection between the elemaenner vating device .and a lowerin `device so-connected that each lsuccesslve o ject is elevatedby the lowering of the preceding object.

3. In an elevator structure, a frame, a cage slidable in said frame, a second cage slidable in said frame and of greater weight than said first mentioned cage, means including a set of pulleys, connecting said cages whereby a greater load in the heavier cage may be elevated through a less distance by the descent of a lighter load in the lighter cage through a greater distance, and means to discharge the loads of the cages at the limit of travel of said cages.

4. ln y'an elevator structure, a frame, a

cage slidable in said frame, a second cage slidable in said frame and of greater weight than said rst mentioned cage, a loading platform, an upper platform, means including a set of pulleys connecting said cages whereby a load inthelighter cage descending through a greater distance may elevate a greater load through the less distance from the loading platform tothe upper platform, and releasable means on each cage and on cach platform to hold the loads against discharge.l y,

5. In an elevator structure, a frame, a cage slidable in said frame, a second cage slidable in said frameand of greater weight than said rst ymentioned cage, aloadmg platform, an upper platform, means including a set of pulleys connecting said cages whereby a load in the lighter cage descend! ing through a greater distance may elevate a greater load through the less distance from the loading platform'toLthe upper platform, releasable means on each cage and on each platform to hold the loads against discharge, and means vfor operating *said releasable means to discharge the load of each cage and of the upper platform.

6. ln an elevator structure, a frame, a cage slidable in said frame, a second cage slidable in said frame and `of -greater weight .than said first mentioned cage, a loading platform, an upper platform, means including a set of pulleys connecting said cages whereby a load in the lighter cage descending through a greater distance may elevate a ree greater load through the less distance from a load from the loading platform, whereby the elevator will operate automatically as long as a supply of load is maintained on the loading platform.

7. In an elevator structure, a frame, a cage slidable in said frame, a second cage slidable in said frame and of greater Weight than said first mentioned cage, a loading platform containing a plurality of compartments, an upper platform having a passage and a retaining chamber, cable and pulley means connecting said cages whereby a Weight in said lighter cage may by its 'descent from the upper platform to the bottom of the frame elevate a plurality of articles of collectively greater Weight from the loading platform to the upper platform, releasable means on each cage and on each platform to hold said Weights against discharge, and means coperating with said releasable means for discharging the Weights from the loading platform to the heavier cage, from the heavier cage to the passage and retaining chamber, and from the passage to the lighter cage, and from said lighter cage at the bottom of the platform, whereby the heavier weights will be carried from the loading platform to the bottom of the framelwhile the lighter portions of the Weights Will be carried from the loading platform to the retaining chamber of the upper platform.

JOEL W. BUNKLEY. 

